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The Escape
#WritcoStoryChallenge
The footsteps following me sounded closer. I ran through the empty corridors of the hospital, my heart pounding with terror.
I turned a corner and stopped short. I had reached a dead end. Ok, don't panic. I looked to the right and saw a laundry basket and without thinking jumped inside hoping I would be covered by the sheets. This always worked in the movies so it must be a good idea right? Wrong.
"There he is!"
A voice shouted and within minutes two pairs of hands were dragging me to my feet. I screamed at the top of my voice but nothing came out. I looked at the men who held me but their faces were hidden behind painted gas masks. No one heard my screams. What was I going to do now? I felt myself being dragged towards the entrance of the hospital. I fought with all my might but to no avail. What were they going to do to me? At 34, I was too young to die. I wasn't even married yet. I thought about Aaliyah, my girlfriend of three years and her beautiful daughter who I was proud to call my own. Will I ever see them again?
I hit the concrete floor so hard that I blacked out.
I opened my eyes to see the men standing over me. Just behind them, in the back seat of a car I could see Aaliyah. She looked at me with sheer terror on her face and I could see that she was crying. When I came to again I was lying on a hospital bed with my hands tied to the bed posts. Men in radioactive suits were standing next to me talking I could barely make out what they were saying. my head hurt so bad I wanted to get up and go back to sleep at the same time.
"Mr Malcolm can you hear me"?
I opened my eyes to see one of the suits standing over me. From the bossom I could tell it was a woman. She asked a gain.
"Can you hear me"?
I tried to answer but my throat felt like sand so I nodded.
"Untie him" she said the the other suit.
I rubbed my sore wrists as someone came in with a glass of water. I drank slowly.
"Mr Malcolm, I am Doctor Snow and you are currently at the Mt St Benedict medical lab. You were exposed to a high level of radiation when you ran into that abandoned hospital.
Do you remember why you ran in there"?
The water seemed to revive me a bit. I slowly raised myself into a sitting position, my mind seemed cloudy and it was a few minutes before I could remember the events of the day.
Slowly, like the flashback scenes of a movie, it started coming back to me. I had taken Aaliyah and Ayla camping with my best friend Rodney and His family. Earlier that day Rodney and I left the women and children at the camp site and decided to take a long drive he had said he had something to show me. After driving for about an hour we parked near an abandoned hospital. There was a 'no trespassing' sign and we could see men in suits in scattered groups but from where we were we knew they couldn't see us.
Rodney pulled something from the dashboard of his car.
"Look what I have" he said with a sly smile.
Rodney and I were recreational users and we never smoked or used any kind of drugs around the children. We had heard about this new opiod called 'xs' and were eager to try it. Rodney was usually the one to get his hands on the new stuff. I was excited.
"It's your turn to go first" he said. That's another thing, we never tried new drugs at the same time just in case things didn't go well one of us had to be sober.
I put the tiny green pill in my mouth and swallowed. Almost immediately, I started to feel like I was on fire. I remember getting out of the car and running. I ran straight to that hospital, passed everyone and into the building. I don't know why or what I was looking for. I just ran and ran. Up stairs, into rooms, down hallways, that hospital was huge. It seemed like I was running for an eternity before I heard the first footsteps behind me.
As I finished recounting my story Dr. Snow and her colleague looked at me in bewilderment. At that moment I felt a mixture of shame, guilt and anxiety.
"Wait, did you say I was exposed to radiation"?
The realisation of what the doctor said earlier finally dawned on me.
The footsteps following me sounded closer. I ran through the empty corridors of the hospital, my heart pounding with terror.
I turned a corner and stopped short. I had reached a dead end. Ok, don't panic. I looked to the right and saw a laundry basket and without thinking jumped inside hoping I would be covered by the sheets. This always worked in the movies so it must be a good idea right? Wrong.
"There he is!"
A voice shouted and within minutes two pairs of hands were dragging me to my feet. I screamed at the top of my voice but nothing came out. I looked at the men who held me but their faces were hidden behind painted gas masks. No one heard my screams. What was I going to do now? I felt myself being dragged towards the entrance of the hospital. I fought with all my might but to no avail. What were they going to do to me? At 34, I was too young to die. I wasn't even married yet. I thought about Aaliyah, my girlfriend of three years and her beautiful daughter who I was proud to call my own. Will I ever see them again?
I hit the concrete floor so hard that I blacked out.
I opened my eyes to see the men standing over me. Just behind them, in the back seat of a car I could see Aaliyah. She looked at me with sheer terror on her face and I could see that she was crying. When I came to again I was lying on a hospital bed with my hands tied to the bed posts. Men in radioactive suits were standing next to me talking I could barely make out what they were saying. my head hurt so bad I wanted to get up and go back to sleep at the same time.
"Mr Malcolm can you hear me"?
I opened my eyes to see one of the suits standing over me. From the bossom I could tell it was a woman. She asked a gain.
"Can you hear me"?
I tried to answer but my throat felt like sand so I nodded.
"Untie him" she said the the other suit.
I rubbed my sore wrists as someone came in with a glass of water. I drank slowly.
"Mr Malcolm, I am Doctor Snow and you are currently at the Mt St Benedict medical lab. You were exposed to a high level of radiation when you ran into that abandoned hospital.
Do you remember why you ran in there"?
The water seemed to revive me a bit. I slowly raised myself into a sitting position, my mind seemed cloudy and it was a few minutes before I could remember the events of the day.
Slowly, like the flashback scenes of a movie, it started coming back to me. I had taken Aaliyah and Ayla camping with my best friend Rodney and His family. Earlier that day Rodney and I left the women and children at the camp site and decided to take a long drive he had said he had something to show me. After driving for about an hour we parked near an abandoned hospital. There was a 'no trespassing' sign and we could see men in suits in scattered groups but from where we were we knew they couldn't see us.
Rodney pulled something from the dashboard of his car.
"Look what I have" he said with a sly smile.
Rodney and I were recreational users and we never smoked or used any kind of drugs around the children. We had heard about this new opiod called 'xs' and were eager to try it. Rodney was usually the one to get his hands on the new stuff. I was excited.
"It's your turn to go first" he said. That's another thing, we never tried new drugs at the same time just in case things didn't go well one of us had to be sober.
I put the tiny green pill in my mouth and swallowed. Almost immediately, I started to feel like I was on fire. I remember getting out of the car and running. I ran straight to that hospital, passed everyone and into the building. I don't know why or what I was looking for. I just ran and ran. Up stairs, into rooms, down hallways, that hospital was huge. It seemed like I was running for an eternity before I heard the first footsteps behind me.
As I finished recounting my story Dr. Snow and her colleague looked at me in bewilderment. At that moment I felt a mixture of shame, guilt and anxiety.
"Wait, did you say I was exposed to radiation"?
The realisation of what the doctor said earlier finally dawned on me.
